App Store Almost Reaches 10,000 Apps

While several sites have reported that 10,000 iPhone Apps have been released into the App Store, the actual number of active iPhone apps that can be downloaded is about 9,676 as of today's count. The discrepancy comes from the fact that many apps ha...

Sneak Preview - Freeverse Flick Fishing 1.2

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Wow, it seems like only a few weeks ago our very own Mike Schramm was telling us about Flick Fishing, a new fishing simulation game from Freeverse. They've let us know that version 1.2 of this great game will be available soon in the App Store (click opens iTunes - note that version 1.2 may not be available yet).

What goodies did Freeverse pack into the latest incarnation of this US$0.99 bargain? The list is extensive:

• New fish
• New locations
• Quest modes
• Fishing tournaments
• Easter eggs!

In the fishing tournaments, you can play against the iPhone, another player on the same iPhone, or against other Flick Fishing owners on the same Wi-Fi network. The old man in the lighthouse is still dispensing questionable wisdom to fishermen, and the lighthouse has a new, more energy-efficient light source than it did in the 1.0 version. The old man also has a new job as the head of the virtual aquarium, and you can make his day by catching specimens for him.

As with Flick Bowling, another title in the Freeverse Flick Sports line, Flick Fishing is a blast to play and it's cheap. Check out the gallery for fun screenshots!

Sneak Preview - Freeverse Flick Fishing 1.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sneak Preview - Freeverse Flick Fishing 1.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 2.2.1 Rumors: Push Notifications and Notes Sync?

MacRumors has linked up RussianiPhone.ru which claims to have gotten a pre-release look at the upcoming first beta for 2.2.1, which is said to include both the long-delayed Push Notification Service and something Mike first discovered way back with Mac OS X Leopard’s release: Notes sync.

Rightly, they point out how easy to fake something like this is, and we won’t know anything for certain until a public beta is actually made available for 2.2.1 (or 2.3, Apple hasn’t done minor point bumps for the 2.x architecture yet, so why now?)

But even if it’s not real, just how desperate have we become for these long overdue, or mind-boggling-ly missing features that we’ll fall all over even fake news about them?

Battered consumer syndrome much?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 2.2.1 Rumors: Push Notifications and Notes Sync?

‘Push’ Notifications Coming in iPhone 2.2.1?

RussianiPhone.ru claims that they have seen iPhone 2.2.1 Beta 1 and that it implements Push notifications as well as over-the-air MobileMe syncing with Notes support.

As proof they've posted a screenshot showing the Notes and Calendar...

TiPb Retorts: iPhone Shmodcasts?! WinMo GPS Locks?! Fight the Real Enemy!

Sibling site WMExperts, which — while Dieter doffs his WinMo cap and rounds his robin reviewing the iPhone — brings us Phil Nickinson’s exception to iPhone OS 2.2’s Podcast Download feature.

Okay, it’s not cut and paste, lack of MMS, no unified inbox, no Flash, etc. etc. In all fairness, it’s an interesting look at some of the things we here at TiPb complain about as well, pointedly the 10MB cap for podcast downloads over the 3G network (you have to switch to WiFi for anything larger, same as the App Store has enforced since iPhone OS 2.0):

It’s this kind of manipulation from Apple that keeps a good many of us from wanting to deal with the company (and frustrates many who do). It’s not that the hardware’s not sexy. It’s not that the software is lacking. It’s that lines are being blurred, or destroyed. Apple makes the hardware, and AT&T provides the service. There’s too much collusion going on. If AT&T wants to set a 5-gigabyte cap on my data, fine. But don’t tell me how to use those gigs. And don’t use Apple as a proxy to do so.

The only problem with the argument? The inclusion of Apple.

Look no further than the very next day on WMExperts, when Dieter posted a rant of his own, asking people to help save GPS on Windows Mobile, which we’ll paraphrase thusly:

It’s this kind of manipulation from [Microsoft and the OEMs] that keeps a good many of us from wanting to deal with the company (and frustrates many who do). It’s not that the hardware’s not sexy. It’s not that the software is lacking. It’s that lines are being blurred, or destroyed. [Microsoft and the OEMs] make the [software and hardware], and [Verizon] provides the service. There’s too much collusion going on. If [Verizon] wants to [lock down the GPS that's not fine]. [And] don’t tell me [I have to pay to subscribe to Telenav in order to do it]. And don’t use [Microsoft and the OEMs] as a proxy to do so.

See what we’re getting at? Targeting Apple and the iPhone — which hits the rabbit-eared AT&T 3G towers like Elmer Fudd with a rail gun — for redirecting high-bandwidth traffic to WiFi, when Verizon is locking out GPS entirely is platform division at the expense of a united front against a common enemy. It’s the WinPot calling the iKettle black in a cupboard full of charred cooking ware, and it misses the main culprit: the carrier fire.

Now, while Apple has done more in it’s brief 1 1/2 years in the mobile space to break the carrier locks than Microsoft or any other megacorps have done in a decade it’s still not enough. Just imagine what could happen if Microsoft put their own, still ginormous weight behind reform. Imagine if Google, rather than taking the carrier-centric, business-as-usual Android licensing route put their “don’t be evil” mantra where their handset was? Imagine if RIM, rather than letting carriers rip WiFi from the Blackberry Storm, stood up told the carriers just where exactly they could push their odiferous demands? Imagine if Apple told AT&T to invest a little in infrastructure cause unlimited means unlimited and podcast downloads they are a coming!

Those are the rants I want to see more of, and in more places.

Go get ‘em, tigers!

PS: Particularly perplexing with the current 10MB cap on podcasts in iPhone OS 2.2 is that they only apply to direct downloads. Hitting the title, on the other hand, will begin to stream the podcast over 3G (or WiFi) without any such limitations or restrictions. What’s up with that? Anyone know if streaming traffic is any different for the 3G network than download traffic?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Retorts: iPhone Shmodcasts?! WinMo GPS Locks?! Fight the Real Enemy!

dTunes Allows Users to Download Music and Videos directly to the iPhone

iTunes Plus Now Even Plusier? But Beatles Bailing?

On the rare occasions when I hit iTunes looking for music, I go immediately to iTunes Plus. When it comes to DRM music, I’m just not gonna do it, so if I can’t find it on iTunes Plus, I can’t find it. Trouble now is, I can’t find iTunes Plus! Used to be in the Quicklinks, but now it’s gone missing from the iTunes Canadian Store. Maybe MacRumors knows:

Forum user Doodledoo has been following it closely and found evidence of tracks from both Warner and Sony studios participating in iTunes Plus. Apple originally launched their DRM-Free iTunes Plus format with the support of only EMI but recent rumors have suggested Apple is working on winning over the other three majors studios (Warner, Sony, Universal).

Whazzat? Really? Could it be that Big Media is finally learning that treating customers to fair use for fair price is the way to go? In a word… “no”. According to Apple Insider, progress and all, the Beatles are still going to need some help:

“EMI want something we’re not prepared to give ‘em. It’s between EMI and The Beatles I think - what else is new?,” McCartney said. “Last word I got back was it’s stalled at the moment. But I really hope it will happen because I think it should.”

So are we finally on the cusp of a revolution? Is (music, at least) DRM dying? And will all of us be long gone before the Beatles show up for download as well?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iTunes Plus Now Even Plusier? But Beatles Bailing?

Apple releases iPhone firmware 2.2 with plenty of goodies

Apple just dropped the fresh new iPhone firmware 2.2 into iTunes and not a minute too soon. We have been impatiently awaiting launch for days now after reading the rumored date of November 21st. Now we welcome it with open arms. After the long 246MB download users will be booting their ...

iPhone Dev Team delivers 2.2 jailbreak with a warning

As promised the iPhone Dev team has delivered the 2.2 firmware jailbreak in the form of the Pwnage tool and Quickpwn for both Mac and Windows machines. This update seems to be the real deal breaker in regards to future unlocks. Upgrading using iTunes can forever eliminate your chances of ever ...